Fabric expander



' Nov. 14, 1933.

J. LATERRA FABRIC EXPANDER Filed Sept. 28, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Nov; 14, 1933.

J. LATERRA FABHI C EXPANDER 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28, 1931 Nov. 14, 1933. J. LATERRA FABRIC EXPANDER Filed Sept. 28, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 ma N k 4 J. LATERRA FABRIC EXPANDER Nov. 14, 1933- Filed Sept. 28, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor J. LATERRA FABRIC EXPANDER Nov. 14, 1933.

Filed Sept. 28. 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Invenlor John Laferra FABRIC EXPANDER Filed Sept. 28. 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Inventor Hahn La {emu fizmaalih J. LATERRA FABRIC EXPANDER Nov. 14, 1933.

Filed Sept. 28, 1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Inventor rfihn Laferra/ Nov. 14, 1933. J LATERRA 1,935,033

FABRIC EXPANDER Filed Sept. 28, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Inventor t/Z/zn Laz erra flltomey .35- the appended claims.

FABRIC EXPANDER." John- La tern, Paterson, N. J.

Application Sep tember 28, 1931 Serial No. 515,598 7 13. 1am: (c1. 26f57) f This invention relates to a device for expanding or stretching fabric, the'general object of theinvention .being. to provide a pair of endless members. provided with cloth or fabric engaging clips for engaging the edges of the fabric with the. parts, so arranged that as the endless mem bers travel along, the fabric is stretched in an easy manner to remove wrinkles and. to stretch the fabrictothe proper width, and. continually .13. dispose. the fabric inthe same placeat. the .outlet end .ofjtheapparatus so thatthe fabjric may beprintedor .woundin a. perfect and straight line and perfectly aligned. i l

Another...object of the invention is to proggvide adjusting means for properly spacing" the endless] members apart and to provide Imeans. whereby theclips engage the edges of the fabric at the inlet end of the apparatus and release ,the fabricat-the outlet end thereof. A further...object;..of the invention is to providemeansfor tensioning the fabric before en tering the-apparatus, such means'being especial.- ly. designed i .for ..tensioning"1the fabric as the fabric, is about torun' off the roller upon which' .25- it has been wound. I a 1 ,Another object of theinvention is to so. form .thatit can v,be used in connection with a printing machine, a washing machinefa djoublingnmachine, etc. V .30. fl7hislinvention also consists finf. ce r.tain other features;. of construction and in the combination and arrangement offthe several parts to be hereinafter fully-described, illustrated in "they accom-f panying drawings and specifically pointedout in In. describingthe invention in detaiL reference Will-behadtothe accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts thruout theiseveral views and ;in'w hich:-

.40. Figure. l is an elevation showing the invenlargelydiagrammatic; i Fig.2 is atop 'plan view pf the invention. 4 ,Fig. 3a is a .viewpartly-in sectioncf one end tion used with a printingm achine,theview being aprojectiontor-opening theclamps. .132) is. a,si1nilar view oftthe other. endof the device; butshowing a 3 wheel for opening the cla n p n V. V I

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of 5one :ofthe' seppont n 'lmembers. r 1 t Fig. .5 is a detail top :-plan View. ;'Of .onegof; the

Figg fi is an elevation showing thel-invention thereof, .andshowing the parts in elevation, with used with a washingf machine n suitably attached to the frame member and ,con-fl teeth of the sprockets. .so that the drive sprock Either.

Fig. 7 is an elevation showing the invention used with adoubling machine.

Fig-8 is viewpartly in section showingnlechanical means of, speed control. f Fig. 9 is a top, plan view of a' doubling'machine withwhich the inventionis used. 7

Asshown in Fig. 2, the device comprisesja pair of elongated frames A and B,, each of which is of substantially inverted T-shape as shown at 1. in-Fig. v4:. The lower part of. each member 1' is extended at each endas shown. at 2 to form a seat for a sprocket 3. Theshafts forthe sprocketsare shown at. 4, and the upper end of each. rear sprocket is covered by a memberflfi,

. 70 taining .the anti-friction bearings 6 for the upper end of the shaft. Each extension ,2 contains the anti-frictionjmeans ','7 1for the lower end ,of the shaft. Each of the rear 'sprocketshas. au worm gear .8 attached to its upper end which meshes 7 with a Worm 9 carried bya shaft l0 whichextends across the two ,frarnesjA and B as shown in Fig. 2. Thus by rotating this shaft, the drive sprockets of the two frames are rotated. "The sprockets 'at idle ones. e

Eachendless member is' composed of a .pl urality of .U -shaped clips "11 withtheir lowerparts the opposite en ds' of the frames are 0 pivotally connectedtogether as-shown atTlJZQ the clips being so formed that they can pass laround 5 *the. spr.ockets at the ends of he'fraines, and f are guided by portions (of the intermediate pore tions of the frames -1 The clips areprovided with the.depending pfrojectionsd13 for engaginglthel 90 ets will impart movementto the endlessmembers composedof the clips.

--Th e .upperpart of .eachclipisof V-jshape as shown at lZin Fig. 5 anda shaft l4 in the vends of the limbs of each v\ Isl 1ape d partsupports the fabric engaging finger l5. 2 v l h A curved member 16 issupported from thepa rt, 5 as shown iinFig. 3a to move the gripping fingers to open position' through a wheel, such as shown at 16" in-Fig. 3b, may be usedgto movethefingers to openpositi on at-the ends, ofeach frame. the memberslfi or-the wheels 16 are engagedby the fingers asthe clips pass around the sprocketsso as to move thetfingers to 're leasing position. "A lower L shaped finger; 30

. is pivoted to each clip 11 as shown at 31 inlfig.

-3a- .a nd an upper finger 32 is pivoted to tee-upper downwardly, so as r at 2'7. Of course,

parts of the brackets 17 so The outer end of each finger 30 is adapted to engage in a recess 35 formed in the upper face of the lower part of each clip 11.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the cloth gripping fingers 15 are in releasing position at the ends of the device, and as the cloth passes into the inlet end of the device, the edges will pass upon the upper surfaces of the lower parts of the clips 11' at the inlet end of the device, and as the fingers 15 pass from the releasing means, either 16 or 16, their lower ends will engage the edges of the cloth, with the lower end of the lower fingers 30 also engaging the cloth.

As the cloth is stretched by the diverging devices, the edges will be pulled from under the lower fingers 30 so that the outer ends of these fingers will drop into the recesses 35, thus causing the lower ends of the fingers 15 to more firmly clamp the cloth between themselves and the lower parts of the clips 11 so as to prevent further sliding movement of the edges of the cloth on the clips, and thus as the cloth passes through the machine, it will be stretched owing to the two sets of holding devices moving awayfrom each other as the endless members move towards the outlet end of the device; This stretching action will continue, until the fingers 15 strike the releasing means 16 or 16 at the outlet end of the device, when the fingers 15 will be moved to releasing position, and thus the cloth will be released at the outlet end of the device.

The upper edges of the members 1 have brackets 17 thereon, the dove-tailed grooves of which receive the dove-tailed guides 18 supported on the beams 19 and shafts 20, which are supported for rotary movement by the beams 19, have threaded portions engaging threaded holes 21 in that by turning the shafts 20, the members A and B will be moved toward each other or away from each other, to increase or decrease the space between the two devices A and B.

As shown in Fig. 2, the frames A and B are 7 slightly curved from one 'end to the other, so that the fabric is stretched as it is drawn between the members by the clips, and by turning the shafts 20, the space between the two members can be adjusted to stretch the fabric to the de- 7 sired extent.

Stationary rollers 22 support the cloth or fabric where it enters the stretching device and a number of rollers 23 are supported above the rollers 22. These rollers 23 are supported by a member 24 which maybe actuated from a lever 25 through means of the linkage 26 so that by depressing the lever 25, the rollers 23 will be moved to applytension to the fabric this tensioning means can be thrown into operation whenever desired, but it is mainly designed for use when the fabric is about to run off the supporting roller 28 shown'in Fig. 1, for at this time the fabric will become loose and would be liable to wrinkle and it would be J a difficult matter for the clips to properly engagev the fabric as it passes throughthe device.

However, by applying tension to the fabric at this time, by lowering the rollers 23, the clips will properly engage the fabric as it enters the device.

As before stated, this device can be used with a printing machine as shown in Fig.1, as it will properly stretch and expand the fabric before it enters the printing device, so that the fabric will be properly printed as it passes through the printing device.

Of course, the worms 9 are slidably attached to the shafts 10 so that these worms will be moved when the devices A and B are moved toward or away from each other by the rotation of the shafts 20.

The sprockets 3 at the inlet end of the device are adjustable so as to keep the endless members properly tensioned, the adjusting means being shown generally at 36, and consists of sliding blocks for the shafts of the sprockets arranged device shown in this Figure 6 at C. After passe ing through the expander, the cloth passes over the expanding rolls 40 and then over the drying cans 41, and from these cans the cloth passes onto the take-up roll 42.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show the expander used with a cloth assembling machine. As shown in Figs. '7, 8 and 9, the expanding device, shown at D, is applied to a doubling machine. The shaft 10 of the expander device is driven from a motor M and in Fig. 8 the transmission of the motion of the motor to the belt or chain 43 is controlled by a mechanical speed controlling means shown generally at 44 and which is of any well known construction and includes the reeves 45 and 46 and the endless members or belt 47 with the screw shaft 48 for controlling the position of the belt on the reeves. This screw shaft is operated by a gear 49 with which meshes a gear 50 having a sprocket connected therewith over which an endless chain 51 passes, and this chain also passing over an uppersprocket 52; A floating roller 53 is attached to the chain 51, and the cloth 54 on its way to the doubling machine, passes around this floating roller.

Thus as the floating roller is moved by the cloth, the chain 51 is moved and the gears 50 and, 49 regulate the speed control means 44 through means of the screw shaft 48. Thus the operation of the expanding device B is controlled by the movement of the cloth to the doubling machine, and this arrangement shown in Fig. 8 is designed for use when the motor is an A. C. one.

Fig. 7 shows a speed controlled arrangement for controlling the speed of the motor when the same is a D. C. one and as shown in this Fig. '7, the cloth 54" passes over the floating roller 53 which is carried by the links 55, and is guided by the guides 56. The links are connected to the arms 57 of the rheostat 58 which controls the circuit of the motor M. The cloth after passing around the floating roller 53 passes over the upper roll 59 and then over the doubling means 60 to the guiding roll 63 from which it passes to the roll 64 to. the take-up roll 65 or a reel, When the reel is used, one of the guide rolls 64 can be yieldingly supported, so asto deliver the fabric to the reel in a smooth and easy manner.

Thus the movement of the'cloth through the doubling machine automatically controls the circuit to the motor M which drives the expander D so thatthe cloth is perfectly aligned before entering the doubling machine.

-less members, and front and rear transversely As the printing machine, the washing machine, and the doubling machine may be of any well known or desired construction, it is not thought necessary to show and describe these in detail, but the drawings show how the expander can be used with such machines.

It is thought from the that the advantages and novel features of' the invention will be'readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:-

1. A cloth stretching device comprising a pair of diverging supporting frames, endless members carried by said supporting automatically attaching the frames, means for edges of the cloth to the endless members as the cloth enters the machine, means for automatically detaching the cloth from the endless members as the cloth leaves the machine, means for actuating the endless members, spaced rollers at the frontend of the frames over which the cloth passes before passing between the frames, a vertically movable member located above the rollers, spaced rollers carried by said member for pressing portions of the cloth between the first-mentioned rollers when said member is lowered and means for raising and lowering said member.

2. A cloth stretching device comprising a pair of diverging supporting frames, endless members carried by said supporting "frame, means for automatically attaching the edges'of the cloth a to the endless members as the cloth enters the machine, meansfor automatically detaching the cloth from the endless members as the cloth leaves the machine, means for actuating the endforegoing" description arranged members attached to each frame and each having a dove-tail groove therein, cross beams, dove-tailed members carried by said beams fitting in the grooves of the transverse members, a screw shaft supported by each beam and having right and left threaded portions, and ears on the transverse members having threaded openings therein through which the threaded portions of the shafts pass.

3. A cloth stretching device comprising a pair of diverging supporting frames, endless members carried by said supporting frames, means for automatically attaching the edges of the cloth to the endless members as the cloth enters the machine, means for automatically detaching the cloth from the endless members as the cloth leaves the machine at the wide end thereof, means for actuating the endless members including a single shaft and means for transmittingthe rotary movement of said shaft to the endless members, spaced rollers at the front ends of the frames over which the cloth passes before passing between the frames, a vertically movable member located above the rollers, spaced rollers carried by said member, for pressing portions of the cloth betweenthe first mentioned rollers when said member is lowered, means for raising and lowering said member, transversely arranged supporting members on which the frames.

are slidably arranged, manually operated means for moving the framestoward and away from each other on said supporting members, means for driving the said single shaft including speed JOHN LATERRA. 

